Musical Snapshots

or’at’or’i’o n. (or-uh-tor-ee-oh) a long, dramatic musical composition, usually on a religious theme, consisting of arias, recitatives, duets, trios, choruses, etc. sung to orchestral accompanimentflor’in n. (flor-in) an English silver coin equal to two shillings; any of various gold or silver European coins     Johann Melchior Molter (1696–1765), German composer of more than 140 symphonies, was from the Thuringian-Saxon* area. His father, Valentin, may have been his first (music) teacher. He belonged to the "Chorus Symponiacus" under Kantor J C Geisthirt à in contact with music of the Eisenach court orch. (founded 1708 by Telemann); entered the service in 1717, as a violinist, of the Margrave Carl Wilhelm of Baden-Durlach; where Molter met his wife, Maria Salome Rollwagen; won [margrave’s] favor, sent with full salary to Italy to study the Italian style (and language?); spent 1719-21 in Venice & Rome, possibly rubbing shoulders with Vivaldi, Albinoni, the Marcello brothers, Tartini and/or Scarlatti. Returned in 1722; appointed Kapellmeister in place of Johann Philipp Kaafer.     German opera was cultivated in Carl Wilhelm’s theater, and young Johann (Molter) directed performances there. From this time period came a number of his compositions, which may have included one or more operas, but definitely chamber music, orchestral works, cantatas and oratorios. However long it lasted, the War of the Polish Succession brought about its abrupt end as Margrave Wilhelm dissolved Kapelle before fleeing to Basle. Molter lost his job, though he kept his title.     Another Wilhelm, Duke Wilhelm Heinrich of Saxe-Eisenach, found the need for Molter’s musical services the following year: as court Kapellmeister after the death of the previous one. Not long later, someone else’s death would have a much bigger, more direct, impact on Johann – after he and his wife had had eight children together, she passed away. This was the first of multiple hardships over the next few years. Having visited a number of cities in the effort of expanding his repertoire and musical knowledge, Johann received the news of another significant death: that of his former patron Margrave Carl Wilhelm. Then it was Duke Wilhelm Heinrich’s turn, who was succeeded by the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, who dissolved the Eisenach Kapelle. By 1742 Molter found employment in Karlsruhe, and had also found a new wife, whose name again was Maria (Christina Wagner). Being in a less favorable financial position at this time, he overcame lower wages by producing a high volume of chamber works. His condition began to change in the late 1740’s when the grandson of Carl Wilhelm commissioned Johann to help reorganize the court’s musical establishment, eventually giving him a (suitable) 500-florin salary. Additionally the size of his orchestra was increased with a variety of servants and retired musicians. Perhaps this meant that he would no longer have to compose quite so many chamber works to provide the income that he needed. The increase of musicians entailed the virtuosity on multiple instruments, not to mention the number of performers who could switch instruments.     Ultimately, the number of works (by the composer) that followed after this was rather high, including but not limited to cantatas and symphonies. Molter would remain in his post until he died. He had gone far as a traveler, influenced by a healthy mix of music around the European continent through several years. You may detect similarities in his compositions to music of certain composers and/or nationalities, but at the end of the day that is up to the listener.Johann Melchior Molter (1696-1765) - Symphony in A Major*Let’s remember that Germany was not a unified country yet Applause to the listeners!

If you tuned in from Australia, then you definitely did not listen to it in the month of May.J. H. Roman came from parents of German and Finnish origins, at least by recent reckonings; his last name could have derived from the Finnish area Raumo. His musical beginnings involved the oboe and violin, likely among additional instruments, and membership in his teen years of the royal chapel. Before too long, while Johan still was a young man, a grant from King Charles XII allowed for his pursuit of studies in England. Familiar figures may have crossed paths with him during that time from about 1715 to 1721. He would afterward return to Sweden, where he transitioned from deputy master of the chapel to leader of the court orchestra.     Before and after this transition, festive cantatas and (a collection of) twelve sonatas (for flute) were written. He also improved the (standard of) the royal chapel during—or following—those years, and by his late thirties he had introduced the first public concerts in Stockholm.     Upon losing his first wife in 1734, Johan directed his attention once again to traveling outside the country. He ended up in Austria, Germany, France, England and Italy, not necessarily in that order, in the span of two years or so. This had a notable influence on his approach and attitude toward musical style, no doubt reflected in subsequent compositions. His next marriage lasted a little longer than the first, resulting in five children, though death would soon take his wife away from him once more.     Drottningholmsmusique was one of Roman’s finest works, composed for the royal wedding in 1744, presumably for Adolph Frederik, husband of Lovisa Ulrika of Prussia, sister to Frederick the Great. After retiring from the court orchestra because of growing deaf, the “aging” Johan Roman settled on a small estate near (outside) the town of Kalmar, where he may have spent much of the rest of his life translating theoretical works into Swedish, along with other related activities. He was interested not only in creating his own original music but also in preserving and arranging various works that already existed, making extended use of his personal style.     Because the man was as humble and modest as he evidently was, not many autographs have been linked to copies of his music (or copies of anything), which made proper attribution much more difficult.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omw3J7bIMPo (Sinfonia D-dur, BeRI nr 24: I. Allegro – Largo)Applause to the listeners!

Christoph Förster (1693–1745), not to be confused with Austrian composer Emanuel Förster, was born with one toe in the 1600’s. His musical studies began with an organist by the name of Pitzler, then after leaving his birth [town] of Bibra he studied under Heinichen in Weissenfels, learning the thoroughbass and composition. In time, Förster would learn Italian, the foremost language for secular vocal music, and also take yet another teacher (professor) named Georg Friedrich Kauffmann at Merseburg. This is where he was appointed violinist in the court orchestra, subsequently becoming Konzertmeister. While there, learning Italian, Förster wrote six sonatas, six cantatas and twelve concertos, dedicated to the duchess. In 1743 he was in Rudolstadt, appointed vice-Kapellmeister, where, among other works, he wrote a birthday cantata dedicated to the princess. The death of Johann Graf as Kapellmeister made way for vice-Kapellmeister Förster to succeed him, but unfortunately he was the new Kapellmeister for only a few weeks before he died as well. This meant that Christoph had only reached fifty-two years of age before all his life’s labors came to a final conclusion. Among his numerous works were [six?] attributed sinfonias; that is, those officially recognized as truly his, according to research and available sources. Let’s give his E-flat Major Sinfioneta the benefit of a doubt, which was not so easy to find, and imagine listening to its first ever performance around the year 1740 (this is a recording from 1993).Applause to the listeners!

Giuseppe Antonio Brescianello was born in Italy, and relatively little is known about his childhood. At some point he began taking violin lessons and eventually was brought from Venice to Munich by the Elector of Bavaria.He became musique director, maître des concerts de la chamber at the Wurtemberg court in Struttgart; the following year he was the chief Kapellmeister, writing an opera somewhat shortly after that, and in spite of hopes to gain recognition from there, he faced the general apathy of the public and later the rivalry of one Reinhard Keiser. Brescianello had aimed at bringing “the theatre taste” adequetly into this opera (La Tisbe), but it was not enough to earn him a performance.It was the loss of a position in 1737 that apparently stimulated the increase of Brescianello’s compositions… Several years later he would be reinstated thanks to generosity and fortunate circumstances, until he was later* pensioned off. Overall, thanks to his initial training on the violin, chamber works [making use of or stressing] the violin were his main compositions. And yet Brescianello managed at least six symphonies. Still, these were from the early to mid-eighteenth century (and composed by a violinist), so today they might be confused with any of his chamber music, upon a first listen. *Scant information about his childhood; we first see documentation of his early 20’s*Had studied on the violin, so he became the next [musique directeur] at the Wurttemberg court in 1716, after moving from Venice to Munich as a violinist the previous year.Began writing opera(s). Noteworthy was La Tisbe, which did not earn a performance.Faced heated battles from 1719-21 with rival Reinhard Keiser, maintained (retained) his position.Lost his post as Rath und Oberkapellmeister in 1737, spurred on to increased composition.The following year produced 12 concerti e simphonie, opus 1 and others.In 1744 his Oberkapellmeister post was restored and eventually he brought the opera & court music to renewed fame. Lasted into 1751 (or 1755—conflicting sources).Enjoy, and He Is Risen!*I realized just a bit too late that "1751/1755" in the audio doesn't quite reconcile with our Episode Description that mentions the same years for the composer's return to Oberkapellmeister post. Given that acknowledgment, you may choose to personally fact-check me on those dates and events.Applause to the listeners!

Descended from a line of Lutheran Kantors and theologians, violinist and choir director Johann Friedrich Fasch came from a musical family and began studying with J. P. Kuhnau around age thirteen, then eventually studied music at the University of Leipzig (or the Leipzig Thomasschule). He wore an eighteenth-century wig not so different from that of his Hungarian neighbor Fr. J. Haydn, who would later be “nicknamed” the “Father of the Symphony,” but did precede said neighbor by a whole generation. As his popularity grew, *Duke* Moritz Wilhelm of Saxe-Zeitz appointed him to write operas for the Naumburg Peter-Paul festivals, after which he was assigned the position of a violinist, and later a court secretary & organist. Positions after that included Kapellmeister to the Bohemian Count Winzel Morzin in Praque, and court Kapellmeister in Zerbst. This is where he composed instrumental music, church cantatas and festival music (for the court). Though he is known only to a few these days, Fasch enjoyed—or endured—notoriety in Saxony, Hamburg, Prague and Vienna during his lifetime and especially during his time in Zerbst. He decided in 1722, the same year he reluctantly accepted the position of court Kapellmeister in Zerbst, that it was too early to leave that place for the chance to be Thomaskantor in Leipzig. Notably, letters of his have shown that he became (or was right from the beginning) unhappy in Zerbst. For one or more reasons, though, he remained there for the rest of his life, during which time he kept busy with primarily writing church cantatas and festival music for the count. Not only were all his compositions published after he died, but thanks in part to being so overshadowed in history by Bach, the year 1900 or so was when the music of Johann Fasch was given proper recognition by a man named Hugo Riemann.His repertoire included four operas, all of which have allegedly been lost, fourteen masses, also lost, and nine cantata cycles …which may also be missing to this day. His instrumental works, however, have re-surfaced in various locations or institutions by now. Now, when all of your music is published AFTER you’re dead, that tends to make the originals more vulnerable to the jaws of Oblivion.Additionally Fasch wrote approximately sixty concertos, spanning the transition from the Baroque to Classical periods (~1750).As for symphonies, he focused on* the String section, composing at least (or at most) nineteen of them. Their durations are usually nine to twelve minutes. As you listen, the sound will be dominated rather exclusively by the strings, depending on—or regardless of—what symphony it is. For this episode, we will hear the one titled “Sinfonia in G (FWV M:G4)” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXK1NzmRUmASources: Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale, © 2024; The Kennedy Center, copyright 1990-2024; MUSOPEN (musopen.org/music/composer/johann-friedrich-fasch/pieces); classicstoday.com; *In particular the symphonies feature the double string part in a more simple form: by “eliminating repeated notes, or taking just the main notes of an arpeggiated passage” (Sheldon, 1972) in the wind section.Applause to the listeners!

Thank you for joining us again. Welcome to Italy. We'll be taking a virtual tour through the early eighteenth century, as we explore the life and works of the next composer. And remember: what you learn here is not the limit, but a starting point, if you seek to learn more.Applause to the listeners!

Welcome back. Enjoy this next page in the history of symphonies.Applause to the listeners!

Remember: it was from Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione concertos Opus 8, that we got “The Four Seasons”. Audio credits:The Four Seasons; Summer, Presto – Voices of Music (2017) produced by Meg Bragle (pardon my poor quality in the recording; just give it a minute)Sinfonia C dur RV 112 – Barocco sempre giovane (2010, Czech Republic)Sources:1) Wikipedia; The World Book Encyclopedia, respectively2) “Antonio Vivaldi: L’Estro armonico, Op. 3”, Boston Baroque Performances – Program Notes3) Brian Wise, “Explore Classical Music – VIVALDI AND LA PIETA”4) “RV in Music”, ©2023 THEMUSICDICTIONARY.ORG – Mavis OsinskiApplause to the listeners!